An update on An Garda Siochana's twitter account say it is understood the driver of the car fell ill and struck the pedestrians.

They said: "Dublin Traffic - Gardaí & emergency services are currently dealing with a traffic collision in the grounds of a church at New Road, Clondalkin.

"It's understood the driver of a car fell ill and struck a number of pedestrians. Further updates will follow."

Dublin Traffic - Gardaí & emergency services are currently dealing with a traffic collision in the grounds of a church at New Road, Clondalkin. It's understood the driver of a car fell ill and struck a number of pedestrians. Further updates will follow.

The funeral had been scheduled for 10am at the church but was deferred until 1pm this afternoon.

Priests and staff of the parish expressed their sympathies to those injured.

A statement read: "The priests and staff of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in Clondalkin wish to express their sympathies to those people injured in an accident on the grounds of the Church this morning. They are keeping all involved in their prayers at this difficult time."

A garda spokesperson said: "Gardaí and emergency services are at the scene of an incident at a Church in Clondalkin Village, Dublin 22 this morning the 25th of June 2018.

"It is understood there has been a collision between a car and pedestrians on the grounds of a church which occurred at approximately 10:20am.

"One person has been taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. Two have been taken to James St Hospital and 1 taken to Tallaght Hospital. Developments will be updated."

Dublin Fire Brigade had appealed to the public to avoid the area to allow emergency service vehicles to get in and out of the scene.

They said: "We have a number of fire and ambulance units at this RTC. It is a developing situation. We are appealing for the public to avoid the area while we get rescue vehicles in and out of the scene."

AA Roadwatch described the incident as "very serious" and advised motorists to avoid the area.

Sinn Fein councillor for Clondalkin Jonathan Graham told Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio One: "There's emergency units there this morning and what they're saying is that there's been a collision with a number of pedestrians, and some are critical.

"They've just asked that people in the area respect the fact the roads are going to be blocked for a foreseeable number of hours.

"It was on the street adjacent to the church so it is a pedestrianised area. It's quite a busy area, Clondalkin village as a whole would be small but a very busy area.

"You have a lot of businesses in the area and its adjacent to a number of main roads so as you can imagine, even though our thoughts are with the individuals involved, it's quite messy around this spot."

The Garda Representative Association sent those injured in the incident their "heartfelt wishes."

They tweeted: "SPEEDY RECOVERIES: The GRA sends its heartfelt wishes to those injured in this morning’s incident in Clondalkin. A terrible morning for all concerned."